streaming meanderings

Lately, the kids have taken to capturing bugs or caterpillars and putting them in jars and containers. They get all excited about their find and plan, with the best of intentions, to care for and observe them. "Just remember to let them go..." I usually remind them, knowing that with the stereotypically short lived attention span of children, they will soon forget. So, I keep finding dead bugs, long forgotten and trapped in tiny prisons, shriveled and grasping the crumbling leaves and twigs that had once been provided for what was only supposed to be a temporary habitat. I can only imagine the fear and then resignation that might have gripped those tiny hearts, had they the ability to reason, when they first saw those chubby hands reaching toward them. All 4, 6 or 8 legs wiggling and moving as fast as they could - those with wings standing a much better chance or escape - with the warnings of humans that their mothers surely whispered to them when they were only just eggs or larvae echoing in their ears.

I think of all of this when the kids come running up to me, with cries of, "Look, Mommy, look what we found!" Then, I make a mental note to try to remember to release the scampering helpless critters after bedtime. The least I can do is allow them to live their very short lives in peace, where they will likely be dinner for some other bigger bug or bird, but they will be free.